"I also think if you can't do 25
miles in 4.5 hours you probably should not be out there."
Well, I just don't know what to think then. Another
thread said 4 hours should be the minimum on your first 4 LDs! Go slow, go slow,
go slow, nothing wrong with going slow! Then, this comment - if you can't
make it in 4.5 hours, stay home.
Neither me or my horse had been on the hilly, rocky
terrain found in Bandera before. He had not used EasyBoots before. I am a
conservative rider, and did a pace I felt was comfortable for both of us given
our level of experience. He dropped to criteria at both VCs in 7 & 12
minutes, got all As on our vet card, and we got a completion. I RODE
MY OWN RIDE. I just would have preferred to "ride
my own ride" with an extra 30 minutes to complete.
If I am not the kind of newbie you want out there,
who is???
In a message dated 12/12/2003 3:37:54 PM Central Standard Time, kskf@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
However, on this same ride, the RM enacted
a mandatory 1 hour hold time, leaving 5 hours to
complete 25 miles (through the TX Hill Country = not flat fast course)
**less** times for meeting criteria, so essentially 4.5 hours of ride
time The ride manager stated the ride was to be a test of
horsemanship, which is great. But there were no mile markers on the trail
(is this common?), and we had a reduced amount of time to complete due to
the extra long hold. So it was difficult to know how hard to push to
complete as we couldn't be sure how far out we were. I think this
defeated some of the RM's intentions.
I don't consider an hour an extra long
hold. I also think if you can't do 25 miles in 4.5 hours you probably
should not be out there. Although my first ride back after breaking my
knee, Karen, Trilby and I did the first 20 in 5 hours at Eastern High Sierra
but that is a very technical trail with rocks, waterfalls and sheep in your
way and a climb to the snow line. We booked on the last 30 and finished
with 5 minutes to
spare.......mb
